THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

WHAT STOPS OTHERS IS NOT GOING TO STOP YOU

In Acts 28, the apostle Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake on a small island named Malta. Paul didn’t PANIC, but simply shook the snake OFF and went about his BUSINESS. The local people waited to see him swell up and suddenly DIE, but after a long WAIT and no HARM to Paul, they decided he was a GOD. They weren’t far OFF; he was A SON of God.

In today’s Scripture, the word “DESTROY” in the original language means “to NOT have its INTENDED purpose.” There will be times when we get bit by a sickness, a divorce, or a loss, but like with Paul, that poison is NOT going to have any EFFECT on you. Its purpose is to take you OUT, but because God DESTROYED the works of the enemy, it’s not going to have its intended PURPOSE. GOD has the final say. What stops OTHERS is not going to stop YOU. The Most High God is pushing BACK forces of darkness. What HE’S purposed for your life WILL come to pass.

Today’s Scripture:

1 John 3:8, NLT

But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

THE ENEMY CAN’T STOP GOD’S PLAN

As we go through DIFFICULTIES, it’s easy to live worried and STRESSED. The circumstances may LOOK frightening and overwhelming. A virus is spreading FAST. The ECONOMY is taking a nosedive. In the noise and chaos, it can be hard to hear GOD saying, “Be STILL, and know that I am GOD. You’re in the middle of a MIRACLE.” RIGHT now, the Most High God is pushing back forces of DARKNESS that are bent on DESTROYING you. He may not deliver you FROM the trouble, but He will bring you THROUGH the trouble.

TODAY’S opposition may be bigger than anything you’ve EVER faced, but it’s NOT a surprise to GOD. The apostle Paul says, “God ALWAYS causes us to TRIUMPH in Christ.” If you’re not seeing the victory YET, don’t PANIC. You’re in the MIDDLE. God is keeping the SICKNESS from taking you out. The enemy can’t STOP God’s plan for your life. HEALING is coming. RESTORATION is coming. BREAKTHROUGHS are coming. It’s not going to be NATURAL. It’s going to be SUPERNATURAL.

Today’s Scripture:

Psalm 46:10, NLT

Be still, and know that I am God!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

KEEP TRUSTING GOD AND YOU’LL RISE HIGHER

I’ve learned that our CHARACTER is more important than our TALENT. We can have all the TALENT in the world, but if we don’t have strong CHARACTER, we won’t GO very far. We can ALL trust God in the GOOD times. But can you trust Him with the secret frustrations that haven’t CHANGED? You’ve prayed and believed, but God hasn’t REMOVED it. The QUESTION is not only if you can TRUST God, but more important, if God can trust YOU. Too many people let frustrations cause them to get SOUR, lose their PASSION, and slack OFF. Will YOU pass that test and stay in faith even when you can’t see what God is DOING?

Keep doing the RIGHT thing, keep being GOOD to people, keep giving it your BEST and having an excellent SPIRIT. Nothing may be happening on the OUTSIDE, but if you keep the right ATTITUDE, something is happening INSIDE. God is CHANGING you. If you keep trusting GOD, you will rise HIGHER, overcome OBSTACLES, and become everything you were CREATED to be.

Today’s Scripture:

Job 23:8–10, NKJV

Look, I go forward, but…I cannot see Him. But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

PEOPLE WHO INSPIRE YOU TO REACH YOUR DREAMS…..

Your friends should be SHARPENING you, making you BETTER. Is that true of YOUR circle of friends? Whatever qualities your FRIENDS have–either good OR bad–eventually will either DULL you or SHARPEN you. If you hang out with people who GOSSIP, who COMPROMISE, or who are STINGY, that’s what YOU’LL become. But if you hang around EXCELLENT people, GENEROUS people, and MOTIVATED, SUCCESSFUL people, those GOOD qualities will SHARPEN your life. This is why it’s so important that you are SELECTIVE with whom you spend your TIME.

Don’t worry about being in the right GROUP, having the MOST friends, being the most POPULAR. The quantity of friends is NOT important; it’s the QUALITY of your friends that REALLY matters. You need EAGLES in your life–people who INSPIRE you to reach your DREAMS, people who MOTIVATE you to go FURTHER, people who make you BETTER. The TRUTH is that you cannot reach your highest POTENTIAL on your OWN. You need the right PEOPLE to help you get to where you’re supposed to BE.

Today’s Scripture:

Proverbs 27:17, NLT

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

KEEP THE RIGHT ATTITUDE AND GOD WILL PUSH YOU TO A NEW LEVEL

In the Scripture, Job had his nest ALL fixed up, had his house JUST as he wanted it, and had a successful BUSINESS. Things were going GREAT. He was FINALLY comfortable, but what HAPPENED? GOD stirred up his NEST. God doesn’t BRING the trouble, but He will ALLOW difficulties to push us into our DESTINY. Almost overnight Job lost his HEALTH, his CHILDREN, AND his BUSINESS. If the story STOPPED there, it would be a sad ENDING. But Job understood this principle. In spite of great DIFFICULTIES, he said, “I know my Redeemer LIVES.” He was saying, “I know God is STILL on the throne. This trouble is NOT going to DEFEAT me; it’s going to PUSH me.” In the end Job came out with TWICE what he’d had before. God’s dream for his life was GREATER than he could IMAGINE.

EVERY difficulty you go through pushes you to MATURE, to TRUST God more, to be more RESILIENT and DETERMINED. Keep the right attitude, and God will PUSH you to a NEW level.

Today’s Scripture:

Job 29:18, TLB

“I thought, ‘Surely I shall die quietly in my nest after a long, good life.'”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

YOU CAN STILL BECOME WHO YOU WERE CREATED TO BE

In Numbers 17, when the people were questioning Moses’ and Aaron’s authority as LEADERS, God instructed Moses to take the staffs from the leaders of each of the tribes of Israel and place them in the tabernacle where God’s presence was manifest. These staffs were old WALKING sticks, dead pieces of WOOD. The next morning the staff of AARON had SPROUTED, BLOSSEMED, and even produced ALMONDS. This DEAD wood that BLOSSOMED was PROOF of who God’s LEADERS were.

God can change what LOOKS dead OVERNIGHT, whether it’s a MARRIAGE, a DREAM, or a FINANCIAL situation. You may THINK it’s going to take years to get well, to restore a relationship, or break an addiction. GOD knows how to speed it UP with one good BREAK, one PHONE call, one IDEA. SUDDENLY, UNEXPECTEDLY, God can change it OVERNIGHT. Now, don’t BELIEVE the lies that it’s never going to change. What you THINK is dead, God is saying, “I can still cause it to BLOSSOM.” You can STILL become who you were CREATED to be.

Today’s Scripture:

Numbers 17:8, NKJV

Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

GOD WILL TAKE YOUR SCARS AND TURN THEM INTO STARS

Perhaps YOU are living with a sense of shame because of something that happened to you that wasn’t even your FAULT. You might have been MISTREATED when you were growing up. Somebody took ADVANTAGE of you. The enemy will TWIST things and try to convince you that it was YOUR fault. Don’t BELIEVE those lies. If someone did you WRONG, the problem wasn’t with YOU; the problem was with THEM. GOD saw what happened, and He says you will FORGET that shame. He’s going to make your life SO blessed, so REWARDING, and so FULFILLING that you won’t REMEMBER the reproach.

Now do YOUR part and FORGIVE the people who did you wrong. As long as you continue to DWELL on it, you’re allowing them to continue to HURT you. Let it GO. What they have done to you did NOT change your IDENTITY. Take OFF the label that says “Damaged” and put on some of GOD’S labels, such as “Accepted,” “Approved,” “Valuable,” and “Masterpiece.” God will take your SCARS and turn them into STARS.

Today’s Scripture:

Isaiah 54:4, NIV

Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach…

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

WHEN YOU LET YOUR ‘FEELINGS’ CONTROL YOU, YOU CAN ONLY GO SO HIGH

There are a lot of things we can do and get AWAY with. It’s PERMISSABLE to go around with a bad TEMPER, a negative ATTITUDE, or a critical SPIRIT, but it’s NOT profitable. When you let your FEELINGS control you, you can only go so HIGH. You’ll SURVIVE, but it will be far LESS than what you were CREATED for. The apostle Paul said he wouldn’t become a slave to ANYTHING. When we let our FEELINGS rule us, we become a SLAVE to anger, to LUST, to self-PITY. Because we’re letting our FLESH, our carnal NATURE, stay on the THRONE, it’s as though we’re SERVING those things, HELD by their POWER.

But I believe it’s a NEW day for us, and the flesh is being DETHRONED. No more living as SLAVES, no more being controlled by our FEELINGS. We’re rising UP to say, “FEELINGS, you’re NOT the BOSS of me. FLESH, you’re NOT going to run my LIFE. I’M taking the throne. I’m going to make DECISIONS that move me toward my DESTINY.”

Today’s Scripture:

1 Corinthians 6:12, NLT

You say, “I am allowed to do anything”– but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

IN THE TOUGH TIMES, YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER YOUR DREAMS AND LET GOD FIGHT YOUR BATTLES

Many YEARS after being sold into slavery by his brothers and held in an Egyptian prison, Joseph was put in charge over ALL the affairs of Egypt. When his brothers showed up at the palace looking to purchase FOOD during the FAMINE, you would THINK Joseph would be BITTER and VINDICTIVE. But it says he remembered the DREAMS of PROMISE God had shown him about them as a young MAN–NOT the betrayal, the HURTS, the INJUSTICES. God had used all the DIFFICULTIES to get him to where he was supposed to BE.

When God gives YOU a dream, when He puts a PROMISE in your heart, it doesn’t MEAN it’s going to come to pass without OPPOSITION, DELAYS, and ADVERSITIES. There will be things you don’t UNDERSTAND. You’ll have PLENTY of opportunities to get DISCOURAGED. In the TOUGH times you have to remember your DREAMS. GOD is in control. He’s directing your STEPS. Stay in FAITH and keep a good ATTITUDE. Let GOD fight your battles. The palace IS COMING.

Today’s Scripture:

Genesis 42:8–9, NIV

Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. Then he remembered his dreams about them…

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

DOING THE RIGHT THIINGS FOR THE WRONG REASONS WILL NEVER LEAD TO GOD’S BEST

In the Scripture, the Pharisees went to the temple all the TIME and did the right religious things OUTWARDLY, but they had wrong MOTIVES. They went to be seen and to IMPRESS people. They prayed long PRAYERS out LOUD, but only because they wanted everybody to HEAR them. They gave their MONEY so they would LOOK good. And in the PROCESS, they failed to see God right in FRONT of them in JESUS.

Today’s Scripture tells us that our INNER life is more important than our OUTER life. On a regular basis we should ASK ourselves, “WHY am I doing this? Is it to help this person out of LOVE or to IMPRESS them and GET something? Am I seeking the promotion to be my BEST or to prove my IMPORTANCE? Am I volunteering as a service to GOD or to get other PEOPLES applause?” Don’t go year after year as the PHARISEES did, giving, serving, doing the right THING but not reaping any REWARD, because you’re doing it for the wrong REASON.

Today’s Scripture:

Matthew 5:8, NIV

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.